The New Kitchen Floor

About 30 years ago a very good friend of mine gave me a partial container of imported Italian tile. My intention was to put it on the kitchen floor. MeMa loves her old farm style kitchen with its old cabinets. So personal feelings aside I will never suggest that they make new ones that look just like hers. 

The first time it was decided that it was time to replace the floor I started pulling out the boxes of Italian tile. MeMa suggested I install this nice vinyl she picked out. So I pushed the boxes of “imported Italian tile “ back into storage. I have never laid vinyl before. I have however laid tile,  just not in the kitchen. I started by making a paper pattern of the entire kitchen floor. I then laid the vinyl on the garage floor. I recruited my youngest son, he was going to learn how to lay a vinyl floor.  I just didn’t tell him that his father was in a complete fog. We then laid the paper pattern on the vinyl and cut happily away with our box cutters. We then spread the glue on the kitchen sub floor, hauled the new vinyl into the kitchen. Hauled it back out, turned it around so the correct end of the vinyl was at the entrance. We laid the vinyl down as we stepped into the kitchen pressing it in place on the sticky glue. We used a wooden dowel to push out the bubbles as we laid the single piece of vinyl and after exiting the other end of the kitchen we stood up and admired our handiwork.

   

A couple of days later MeMa was making popcorn on the stove, she left the kitchen just long enough for the pot to catch on fire. When she returned she panicked, instead of smothering the flames she grabbed the pot and  threw it across the room to the sink. Molten metal fanned out leaving burn marks were it landed.
I made a feeble suggestion that "imported Italian tile" would look great, and it doesn't burn. MeMa tossed a long area rug down, stood back and said “done”. And that’s the way it remained for the last fifteen years.
A good friends son passed after a rough battle with leukemia and she asked if we could organize a memorial here at Menagerie Manor in June. So once again the kitchen floor was back up for discussion. I was taking care of my brother in Phoenix at the time so when the discussion started it was on the phone. I brought up the fine "Imported Italian tile" squirreled away in garage. MeMa ended the discussion with "I've picked out the floor I want, you will see it when you return."

This is Shawn, the floor guy, he did a wonderful job installing the new floor. It's not imported Italian tile but heck, I didn't have to install it. Burnished oak looks great, good job Shawn the floor guy.

I loaded my "imported Italian tile" into the trailer and donated it to Habitat for Humanity, they were thrilled to receive it.